Legal director of the Kosmos group and responsible for the football area. Personal lawyer of Gerard Piqué and president of FC Andorra. The role of Ferran Vilaseca (Barcelona, 1975) in the former Barça footballer's businesses has not stopped growing since the company was born in 2017. Trained at Esade and Harvard, Vilaseca has combined several key roles so that Kosmos is no longer a startup.
Why did Piqué choose you to preside over Andorra?
I arrived as legal director of the Kosmos group in 2017. And one of the projects that was born was the purchase of a club. There the possibility of Andorra arose through our local partners in Clayton. Gerard quickly saw that it was a great opportunity because of its originality, because there was a country behind it and because it was disruptive. At that time there were very few of us in the group and I had a background in the world of football, so we decided that I was going to be the president of the club.
He was also one of the architects of bringing the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Beyond all the noise we are very proud. The evolution of the agreement has shown that it was a good bet. Saudi Arabia is on everyone's lips today with the League they have and we were pioneers. The football situation in the country and LaLiga's relationship with Visit Saudi has fallen under its own weight. It is a country that is betting heavily on sport and is opening up. Jon Rahm is the latest example.
Can Andorra dream of playing in the Champions League one day?
In the short term we want to consolidate the team in the Second Division and in professional football. But we believe that where we can create greater returns by being in Andorra and having a country behind us, but also against LaLiga due to our uniqueness, is in the First Division. That is our goal. We will achieve it sooner or later or we will not achieve it... but that is our ambition.
Does Piqué put pressure on you to get promotion?
Gerard is very ambitious [laughs]. Our DNA both at Kosmos and at Andorra is to always think big.
Do you follow the club closely?
Gerard is attentive to all the businesses in which he invests. He loves to work, do it as a team and get deeply involved in everything he does. But he knows how to delegate and it is a joy to have the freedom he gives you. His opinion is important for signings and in games he can explain more than me because he is on the other side of the field.
At what point are these aspirations?
It is a moment that should be very beautiful, but the reality of everyday life does not let you enjoy it. Now we play against Espanyol, we are going to play a match against a team with a lot of history and with First Division players. Let's enjoy this moment. Within the planning we are going as we wanted, although we have to see if we can shorten this consolidation period as much as possible.
Will Piqué attend the game against Espanyol?
Surely it will be.
Could it be the beginning of a new rivalry?
On a sporting level we really want them, I'm not going to deceive you. We suck from our illustrious president at Kosmos. We are Andorra fans and we know how much Gerard is looking forward to this match, like everyone else. As our own entity we are already looking forward to playing against Espanyol and offering a great match. We hope Gerard can enjoy it a lot.
After almost reaching the playoff in their first year in the Second Division, they are far from the lead in this one.
The second year at the sporting level is the most complicated. This is when there is usually a catharsis and you have to adapt again.
Have people gotten hooked on Andorra?
When you grow so fast the blanket is not enough for everything. We are trying to grow the club's fan base, but we are in an environment with a small population. Even so, we are finding our place in the country, carving out a space for ourselves between rugby and basketball. We are growing, but I also think that is where we have the most room for improvement.
Will FC Andorra play in Andorra next year?
We are talking to the different actors who were previously in the stadium to coexist as best as possible. Inevitably we have to agree. FC Andorra must play in Andorra, the Government of Andorra has understood it that way. There are moments of tension, it is obvious, but we have redirected the situation and we are working to find a solution so that we can play in a stable stadium in Andorra. Right now the word is cooperation between all the sports groups in the country.
Do you fear that the King's League will displace Andorra more in Piqué's interests?
When you have a company with different investments there are moments of more intensity. Now the King's League is the flagship project within Kosmos of which we are happy and proud. But we have not left aside Andorra, nor other projects nor others that will come.
Is FC Andorra still a startup?
We are because we don't come from traditional football. As a basic premise, we are a club made from green. We identified a game model – the Barça DNA – and from here we built a club and an organization. We try to do professional management using big data to analyze which profiles best adapt to the roles we need.
Can football be predicted?
We analyze a lot of data from the games, the rivals and the possible signings. In that we consider that we are somewhat different. Although in football there are key components: daily work, believing in what you do and staying firm. And that of the ball, luck, the dynamics, knowing how to manage them and not panic.
